Falling
by Katie Dazuru
Summary: It's not the fall that kills you; it's the landing (or in which the main character is shot out of Oblivia's sky and doesn't survive the fall). Character Death.


**What is it with me and writing really depressing stories about this guy? (It's actually kind of alarming how many sad oneshots I have of Ben, oh my God)**

* * *

Stop the Pokemon Pinchers: that was their mission.

Ben exhaled heavily through his nose, eyes closing as his grip on his staraptor loosened slightly. It was peaceful; he and Summer were above the clouds, and there was blue as far as the eye could see. The bitter chill was overcome by the sheer amazement of the serenity, and Ben opened his eyes again and smiled.

"Having fun?" Summer flew up beside him, eyes twinkling.

He glanced over at her with a grin, opening his mouth to say something, when a cry reached his ears. Summer obviously heard it as well, if the way her back straightened and the way she turned her head to scan the area were anything to go by. Ben narrowed his eyes, brows furrowed as he caught a flicker of movement up ahead.

"Up there," he told her. Summer looked at him for a moment, before looking in the same direction.

Ben stared, before urging his staraptor to go faster, and he barely heard Summer's shout for him to wait up as the wind began to rush past his ears. His eyes narrowed again behind his goggles when he grew closer, catching sight of some sort of UFO device with a man and a woman standing on either one. They were in conversation and gesturing frantically to the shadow in front of them, and Ben's shoulders tensed. He recognised the colour and the cry of the pokemon, and he clenched his hands into fists. _They were chasing Latios?_

"Hey!" he called out, determined to stop these people. They looked back at him in shock, and Ben immediately recognised the uniform the two wore. He grimaced and glared at the now-revealed-to-be Pokemon Pinchers.

"…What's a Pokemon Ranger doing here?" the woman questioned.

Ben strained to hear what else they were saying, the wind almost deafening him from how fast they were flying, but it didn't matter. All he knew was that he had to stop these people and protect Latios at all costs. He easily captured the pidgey that they sent his way (what were they? Stupid? He was a Top Ranger, for crying out loud!) and then proceeded to dodge the plasma orbs they shot his way. He watched as Latios flew off.

"…We'll just have to ram 'em!" he heard the man yell.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Ben turned his head to the right slightly and smiled as Summer flew up beside him. "Now you have to deal with two rangers!"

"There's more than one of them!" the woman wailed (and somewhere in the back of his mind Ben noted that they had all slowed down to a speed where he could actually hear). "I hate to say this, but it looks like we're going to have to retreat!"

But then there was another shadow that burst from the clouds, and Ben found himself and Summer staring at another Pincher. This one was different – with the red UFO device (or, really, with the entire red colour scheme altogether) – and Ben unconsciously tensed. He could only stare at the newcomer, even as the man insulted him and Summer. He blinked when Summer shot forward slightly, eyes narrowed as she angrily snapped back at him. The man merely raised an eyebrow, before he turned towards Summer. Ben could faintly hear a low hum and his heart seemed to stop.

" _No!_ " he cried out, and in the blink of an eye he directed his staraptor to fly in front of Summer. He yelled out as he felt burning, before it was replaced by a tense feeling in his stomach as his mind registered the sensation of falling.

" _BEN!_ "

He could barely register that that was Summer's voice. His body was burned and sore, and when Ben looked down at himself he could see that his shirt was beginning to stain crimson. The wind rushed past him, growing faster and faster until it was a deafening roar in his ears. His eyes stung, and he shut them as he gritted his teeth.

 _Was it really going to end like this?_

His eyes snapped open, and he stared skyward as the clouds grew thinner and thinner until he was falling through clear air. He exhaled shakily, his body protesting as Ben tried to move – to do _something_ in an attempt to save himself – but his staraptor had long since flown off. He felt like crying.

"So…" he murmured to himself, "…this is it."

Looking down, Ben stared blankly at the rapidly approaching ocean.

He'd always figured he'd go down fighting – like in a "saving the world" kind of way. Not by falling out of the sky. If the current situation wasn't so, well, depressing, he'd probably be more irritated.

He hadn't really said goodbye to the other rangers back in Almia, especially the ones he actually called family. Kellyn and Keith had been out on a mission in Hia Valley when he and Summer had been sent to Oblivia, and he hadn't heard from Lunick in weeks. Ben roughly swallowed past the sudden lump in his throat. He hadn't even said _goodbye_. What were they going to think when they got news of this? Maybe they wouldn't even know at first, maybe the Union would think he was swimming around Oblivia's seas or whatever – not that he'd _died_.

Ben paused, glancing skyward again. Summer… What about her? There was no way she could do this on her own, and with her being outnumbered three to one? He knew the chances of her actually getting out of her current predicament were slim.

He could almost hear the ocean.

Ben exhaled harshly and shakily, closing his eyes as they began to burn again. This was his first mission, and he'd started off by failing spectacularly.

 _Congrats, Natsuya._

His eyes snapped open again, the sound of the ocean grown louder and louder. His hands unconsciously clenched. He could barely feel the pain in his chest anymore; he couldn't be bothered to worry about how badly he was injured and how much blood he was losing. He didn't _care_.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, though he wasn't exactly sure who it was for. Maybe it was for Summer; maybe it was for his friends and family; or maybe…just maybe, it was for himself.

Ben closed his eyes, exhaling slowly and gently, his body relaxing. With a final murmur of an apology, his body connected with the surface of the water with a sickening sound.

 _I'm sorry._


End file.
